O MARIE OF the spotlight: there amidst the milling crowd in the dimness of dancing inside the Memorial Building ballroom was a man staring at her. His hair shone in such a way that with the lights behind him, he looked as if he had a halo. As he leaned against a pole underneath the balcony, she watched him. The anxious men trying to talk into her ear faded away as she felt herself weaving through the crowd toward him. The tall man was lanky like Jimmy Stewart, but he didn’t seem to be a bumbler like the actor.
Then she stopped a few feet away. People, laughing and carrying drinks in their glasses, drifted past her, but she didn’t move.
He grinned. As he stood up, he seemed to realign his shoulders inside his suit as he kept his eyes on hers. He moved closer and extended his hand.
She fe
